


Are We Out of the Woods Yet?

by jqueen17



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Angst, Camping, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forests, M/M, Phanfiction, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 09:49:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5739055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jqueen17/pseuds/jqueen17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a camping trip with PJ Liguori and Chris Kendall, Dan and Phil don’t really know why they both agreed to go. The arguments and fights have lasted for weeks, and neither knows-or wants to admit-why they can’t stand to be in the same room together. A series of unexpected events causes the two friends to question their decisions, and the answers to their questions come in a way neither had expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Are We Out of the Woods Yet?

**Author's Note:**

> A Dan and Phil oneshot written in response to a prompt by one of my followers on Tumblr. Feel free to leave any comments, positive or negative-I appreciate any feedback and/or kudos:) Enjoy!

I'm still not completely sure why Dan agreed to go on an impromptu camping trip in the middle of January. To be fair, I'm not sure why any of us did, but Dan's decision perplexed me the most.  
It was originally PJ’s idea, so of course Chris was the first to agree. I decided to tag along because I needed space, and what better way to clear my head than in the middle of the woods, on a mountain? But then Dan said yes when PJ invited him, and I got slightly upset.  
Yeah, let's call it slightly.  
Dan and I had been fighting for weeks now, and neither of us wanted to say why. We thought it would blow over, like all of our other disagreements did, but we were nearing the end of a month and he still ground his teeth when I changed the channel. Neither of us had tried to apologize, either, and I wasn't going to be the first this time. Whatever had happened at the New Years party...it didn’t matter now.   
So here we were, waiting on the steps just inside our flat’s door, not talking. We had our bags by our feet, and I had intentionally pressed myself against the wall so we wouldn't accidentally touch. Dan had noticed, and for whatever reason, that pissed him off as well.  
“I just can't please you, can I?” I snapped, letting my tongue slip. I hadn't wanted to start anything right before the trip, but he had an attitude and I wasn't about to deal with it for three days straight.  
Dan didn't answer, settling for a cold glare that didn't match his usually warm gaze. I clamped my mouth shut, feeling the frustration making me want to throw something at him. I didn't know what was wrong, with him and with me. I loved Dan. I really did. But I hadn't ever known if he felt the same way, and lately, the answer was pretty clear.  
A horn honked twice outside, and I bolted out the door, not waiting for Dan. I sat in the passenger seat, since we still had to pick up Chris and there was no way I was sitting back there with Mr.Sunshine. Chris could deal with him.  
PJ raised an eyebrow at me. ”Don't you want to-”  
“No.”  
He held his hands up at my tone, and the door slammed as Dan got in the car.  
“‘Sup, mate?”  
Dan grinned at PJ in the rear view mirror, and I bit my tongue to keep from making some snarky comment. His smile was so fake it physically hurt not to point it out, but if PJ noticed, he gave no sign of it. He was nice that way, not asking about obvious things.  
The car ride to Chris’ was painfully silent, and I could see PJ shooting me glances out of the corner of my eye. I could hear Dan's music blasting through his earbuds, even over the radio, so he was clearly tuning everything out.  
This was going to be a fun weekend.  
Chris lightened things up a bit as he got into the car, going on about how he nearly burned the house down at his parents on New Years. Dan was still quiet, but PJ and I were laughing along with Chris and giving our inputs when he paused for breath.  
We had been driving for about an hour when PJ announced that he had to stop for gas, and then Chris called shotgun.  
Uh oh.  
I protested, but he was very persistent, like only Chris could be. So when PJ stopped at a convenience store, we switched places, and Dan gave me an incredulous look as I slid in next to him.  
“What are you doing?” He snapped, yanking his earbuds out. I shrugged, gesturing to Chris, who was walking into the store to get some snacks.  
“He called passenger.”  
Looking as if he wanted to keep arguing, Dan opened his door, getting out and leaning on the roof of the car.  
“I can take a turn driving, Peej.”  
I huffed out a disbelieving laugh, astounded that he would do literally anything to avoid me. But PJ grinned, closing the gas cap.  
“Nah mate, you're fine. I like to drive.”  
I knew he wanted to add something suggestive about the backseat, but he saw Dan's face and stopped. The door slammed as Dan got back into the car, stuck his earbuds in, and huddled up next to the door. I sighed, leaning my head back and wishing one of us had stayed home.

The cabin was beautiful, as were the woods that encompassed it, looking like a movie scene with the sun making everything glow golden. Dan had fallen asleep, but the rest of us discussed what we were going to do over the next few days.  
“We could canoe,” Chris suggested. PJ shrugged, glancing in the rearview mirror for my approval. I gave a thumbs up, and his eyes briefly flicked to Dan.  
“He isn’t afraid of water or anything?”  
I shook my head, and PJ grinned. “Then it’s settled. We’re canoeing tomorrow.”  
We got out of the car, and while PJ and Chris took the bags out of the trunk and into the cabin, I decided to wake Dan up. I didn’t WANT to, but someone had to, and the guys clearly expected me to.  
“Dan.”  
He didn’t answer, and I realized he still had his music blasting. I sighed, reaching over and giving his shoulder a gentle shake. He jolted awake, and I winced at the wary expression on his face.  
“We’re here,” I muttered, and Dan opened the door, looking around.  
“Where are we?”  
I shrugged, unable to remember the name of the lodge or the mountain. Dan had a strange look in his eyes, and as much as I wanted to ask him what was up, I couldn’t. We had both taken a silent vow not to ask the other anything, and I was sticking to my end of the theoretical deal.  
The inside of the cabin was as beautiful as the outside, and I could smell PJ cooking something already in the kitchen. Dan immediately went to the first outlet he saw, plugging in his charger and then into that, his phone. A few moments later he muttered a few curse words, and I smirked, letting my facade slip.  
“No wifi?”  
Dan grimaced comically before his eyes flicked up, making us both realize who we were speaking to. He didn’t say anything, and I went upstairs, distributing the appropriate bags in the three rooms. After that I went back downstairs, and walked into PJ flipping a pancake into the ceiling.  
“I’m not a chef.” He explained, and Dan and Chris laughed from their seats at the bar. The only remaining chair was next to Dan, and I reluctantly slid into it, watching PJ goof off. I could basically feel the tension rolling off of Dan’s shoulders; I couldn’t stand it, this being so obviously despised by my supposed best friend. I moved to the counter, in front of the two at the bar, and PJ shot me a questioning glance. Giving a slight shake of my head, I started fiddling with a salt shaker, pouring the salt on the counter and making shapes in the pile with my finger. I could feel one of them behind me watching my hand trace patterns onto the counter, and for whatever reason, I hoped it was Dan.  
After a dinner of pancakes and bacon, we played Cards Against Humanity, but everyone was sort of restless because of the weather, which had turned stormy. PJ and I were the last ones that went upstairs, and he stopped me before I got up from the sofa.  
“Hey, are you and Dan...okay?”  
His green eyes were worried, and I forced a smile onto my face, despite my desire to bolt out the door. “Yeah. We’re good.”  
“Mmm...are you sure?”  
He had, of course, picked up on our obvious tension around each other, and I shrugged, not bothering to tell him what he already knew.  
“Is it about New Years?”  
I snapped my head up, giving him a stern ‘don’t bring it up’ look. He held his hands up, shaking his head.   
“Have you tried talking to him?”  
“Have you ever tried to just ‘talk’ to Dan when he’s angry?”  
PJ nodded, understanding. I knew he wouldn’t push me any further, and he didn’t, simply murmuring, “Just please try again,” before leading the way up the stairs. I said nothing, calling goodnight to him before closing the door of my room behind me. When I turned around, Dan was sitting on the bed, looking at me with an impassive expression on his face.  
“If you think I’m sleeping in the same bed as you you’re mad.”  
I winced, wanting to lash out and with a retort, but instead I just sighed, nodding. I knew I couldn’t throw New Years in his face right now. “I’ll take the floor.”  
Dan looked taken aback, blinking a few times before muttering, “Okay then,” under his breath. He had expected a fight, and taking Dan by surprise was the best way to come out on the good side of an argument.  
I hated that I knew that.

That morning was still tense, but we were all so excited about canoeing that we forget most of the reasons we were upset. Dan drove on the way to the river, so PJ and I sat in the back, resolving any negativity that may have ensued. The river was beautiful as well, and none of us had really grasped the danger of river rafting until we we're in the raft, paddles in Dan and PJ's hands, about to be pushed from the bank.  
“Does everyone know how to swim?”  
PJ asked, lightening the mood.  
“Phil almost drowned because of seaweed in Jamaica,” Dan mentioned,and although it was simply a statement, it made Chris and PJ laugh.  
“And you almost drowned jumping off of a cliff.”  
They laughed again, and I thought I heard Dan snort.  
“You guys ready?” The instructor called, and PJ waved in affirmation. I felt the raft jolt, and then we were spinning, drifting out into the middle of the rushing water. Chris gave a hoot, and I grinned, praying to the heavens that we wouldn’t die today. 

The first leg of our journey went smoothly, thanks in the most part to Dan. He was a natural at navigating the river and controlling the raft with the paddle, instructing PJ when he fell out of the rhythm Dan had created. The water was also pretty calm, and while it was cold, the air was warm for January. We stopped after about two hours for lunch, which consisted of terribly made cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, courtesy of Chris.  
“You’re mad, thinking this many cucumbers was a good idea,” PJ joked, his words muffled by the huge bite of sandwich he was chewing on, despite his comment.  
“Fucking brilliant, Chris.” Dan’s voice was dripping sarcasm, and he caught my eye, smirking. I smiled back, and we looked away, more awkward than hostile at the moment.  
We returned to our positions in the raft about half an hour later, deciding that PJ and Dan were doing a fantastic job and didn’t need me and Chris’ “assistance”. The sky had grown darker, and I could tell it was going to storm soon. The water had become choppy, splashing against the raft and making it swerve from side to side, resisting Dan and PJ’s maneuvers. I could see a huge rock looming in the distance, and I leaned forward, my mouth next to Dan’s ear.  
“You see that rock, right?” I whispered warily, wondering why we were still aimed straight at it.  
“Yes, I see it,” Dan hissed, and I could sense the panic rolling off of his shoulders. “If we hit it hang onto me, do you understand? You’ll go flying since you’re in the back.”  
I gave a sound of agreement, and he turned to PJ, who looked equally as panicked. “Peej, paddle like a motherfucker to the right. We’ll hit the bank if we go left.”  
Dan and I were on the left, so if we hit the rock, we would get the bad end. I knew Dan was trying to protect our friends, since he was a good swimmer and I had a good sense of direction and reasonability. But that didn’t calm the fear that was rising in my chest.  
“Shit shit shit shit SHIT PJ PADDLE GODDAMMIT!”  
As soon as Dan started cussing I grabbed his waist, wrapping my arms around him and clenching my hands together, my eyes squeezed shut. I felt the raft hit the rock, the front end raising into the air while the back turned to a near vertical line. I felt Dan grab my arm just as I slipped, and the all I could feel was the stinging cold water.   
It was so cold that the breath was knocked out of me, and I hit my head on a rock, disorientating me. I didn’t know which way was up, didn’t know where the raft was or if anyone else had fallen in, didn’t know anything. I tried to calm down, but the cold had sucked the energy out of me, making my legs weak. I could tell I was panicking, but that didn’t make me stop. I flailed like a fish, trying to push my way to the surface, and I got a glimpse of the rock that we had hit and a gray t shirt moving towards me before I went back under, and by then I couldn’t do much of anything. I barely registered a pair of arms pulling me above water, and then pulling me through the rushing current to land.   
When I felt my knees hit the rough edge of the bank, I began coughing, each one making my already raw lungs burn. I could feel someone pounding my back, helping me get the water out of my chest, and eventually I started sucking in air instead of expelling it.  
My vision was blurry, but I could make out a silhouette above me, tall and dark and dripping water from their hair.  
“Just breathe, yeah?”  
Dan. Of course. I gave a weak nod, and he collapsed next to me, breathing heavily himself. We lay like that until I could form a coherent sentence, and by then I could hear PJ and Chris pulling the raft onto the bank a few yards away from us.  
“Thank you,” I wheezed, and Dan huffed out a laugh. “Right, well, you’re welcome.”  
Luckily, PJ had put the phones in a plastic baggie, and he pulled his out, calling the rafting place and telling them that the water was too rough to navigate. They showed up with a van about 15 minutes later, but by then we were all freezing and irritable. The drive home from the shop was quiet, with only a few questions of “are you guys okay?” from PJ and Chris. They let Dan and I use the two showers first when we got back to the cabin, and we had all decided in the car to just go straight to bed when we got there.  
I was done with my shower first, so I changed into pajamas and sat on the bed, waiting for Dan. I needed to properly thank him for saving my life, whether he wanted me to or not. I could have died. And even if you’re pissed beyond words at someone, you still have to give them credit for not letting you drown in a river.  
Dan walked in about ten minutes later, toweling his hair off, giving me a surprised look when he saw me sat on the bed.   
“Oh, hi. I thought you would’ve gone to bed by now.” I gave him a small half-smile, shaking my head, and he stood there awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Um, you can have the bed tonight. Since you almost died and all.”  
“About that,” I began, and Dan waved me off, walking over to the dresser and pulling on a shirt. “Seriously,” I said to his back, and he sighed, turning around.   
“What about it, Phil? What was I supposed to do, let you die?”  
I let out a disbelieving laugh. “Are you really not going to let me thank you?”  
“No! I don’t deserve it-anyone could have jumped in after you.”  
My voice was small, not wanting to really put up a fight right now. He looked angry enough, and he hadn’t been in the room for five minutes. “But YOU did, Dan, and it matters to me, okay?”  
He shook his head, sitting down on the floor and plugging in his straightener. “Drop it, alright? You’re welcome. Are you happy now?”  
I couldn’t believe his attitude right now. I kept trying to smooth things out, and he kept picking and picking and picking at my last nerve until I was as fired up as he was. We’d been going around and around in this circle for a month, playing this game where we tried to piss each other off without getting killed. I was tired of it. I rolled onto my back, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples. “If you didn’t want my appreciation then you should have let PJ or Chris jump in, Dan.”  
He was fiddling around with his straightener, ignoring me after that comment, and after a few minutes I heard him groan in frustration, ripping the cord out of the wall and throwing it across the room. It cracked against the wall, making the silence seem that much quieter.  
“I’m going to talk to PJ,” I muttered, and Dan ignored me, glaring at his reflection in the mirror.  
PJ was in the kitchen eating a sandwich when I came downstairs, and he raised an eyebrow at my flustered expression as I sat down opposite him at the bar. “Please tell me that wasn’t Dan hitting the wall just a minute ago?”  
I chuckled, shaking my head. “His straightener broke again. You know how he is about his hair.”  
Nodding, PJ studied my face, chewing his food thoughtfully. “Why are you guys fighting so much?”  
I shook my head, trying to make him stop asking, but he persisted. “No, really. I don’t like it when you two fight.”  
I shrugged. “It’s not like we particularly LIKE to fight. He just...I don’t know what to do.”  
PJ thought that over, choosing his next words carefully. “Can you tell me WHY you’re fighting?”  
My eyes snapped up, but he didn’t back off. “If it’s about New Years-”  
“It’s NOT.”  
“-I can tell you what happened. I wasn’t drunk.”  
Despite my gut instinct to tell him to shut up about it, I sighed, gesturing for him to go ahead.  
“You guys were shitfaced. Sorry, but it’s true. I think Dan was more drunk, but you were well on your way to blackout drunk early on, my friend.”  
I glared at him, and he grimaced and shrugged before continuing. “Anyway, Louise put up a bunch of mistletoe, and some way or another you two ended up under it at midnight.”  
I winced and groaned, holding my head in my hands. PJ sounded sympathetic, but he didn’t stop.  
“So after that, you guys hung out for about an hour before going upstairs, and both of you were asleep when I went in to check on you. There was severe cuddling and stuff, but I’m absolutely sure nothing else happened. You both freaked out in the morning though, and every time I tried to confront one of you and let you know what happened-or, well, didn’t-you told me not to bring it up again. So...yeah.”  
I blinked at him in disbelief. “You’re telling me that nothing happened.”  
He shook his head. I stood up, and he gave me a wary look. “Where are you going?”  
“To tell Dan. I’m sick of fighting, especially over nothing.”  
I went right up to our room with zero hesitation, swinging the door open. Dan was laying on the floor, playing on his phone, and barely glanced up when I came in.  
“Dan, on New Years-”  
His voice whipped out like a flash of lightning, cold and clipped. “Don’t do this now, Phil.”  
“But-”  
He was on his feet in a heartbeat, in my face and fuming with rage. “I don’t want to talk about it.”  
I opened my mouth to speak, and he was out the door, running down the stairs and out the front door, which slammed shut behind him. I grabbed my coat on the way out, and heard PJ call after me in confusion. I yelled an explanation over my shoulder, running after Dan.  
“He’s mad and it’s dark and he’s afraid of trees and he’ll get lost!”  
That was the look in his eyes yesterday. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten. Dan was terrified of trees, especially forests, and in the dark no less. These woods in particular were menacing, the canopy above almost completely blocking out the sky, not that it made much difference. Clouds covered any sort of light the sky may have provided, and the only illumination that was given was from the random flashes of lightning. I ran blindly in the direction I had seen Dan disappear in, and when I slowed down to breathe, I knew I was lost.  
“Dan?” I called, my voice bouncing off of the endless expanse of trees. God, no wonder Dan hated trees. They cast shadows and concealed things in their leaves and behind their trunks and made creepy noises and-  
“Stop psyching yourself out,” I mumbled under my breath. Dan had to be absolutely panicking right now, and if he had an existential crisis in the middle of the woods...I would never find him. I tried to ignore my pounding heart, focusing on where he could be. It was difficult, but I thought back to each and every time Dan had mentioned anything about trees, or anything around trees, that could give me a hint as to where he would run. It was a good five minutes before I remembered something, and while the memory was amusing, it was sufficiently useful right now.

…

“Isn’t this your literal worst nightmare?” I asked, in all seriousness. Dan tended to act for the camera more than I did, and his voice was sarcastic and comical when he turned to me and answered.  
“What, being lost in a dark forest? Why yes Phil, it is literally my worst nightmare. Thanks for pointing that out.”  
We played around with the controls for awhile, randomly bantering about them while we made painfully slow progress through the foggy digital forest. Eventually Dan’s eyes lit up,and I could tell he had an idea.  
“Okay Phil I’ve got a strategy.”  
“Okay…”  
“I'm just going to strafe right with my back to the fence.”  
I made some joke about Slenderman being beside us, cracking Dan up and balancing out his semi-serious statement. We were doing pretty well for awhile before getting creeped out by the creepy drawings, and then Dan got spooked and started rambling.  
“Back to the fence back to the fence back to the fence back to the fence back to the strafe, strafe, strafe…”  
I calmed him down with a joke about my childhood antics involving creepy hand drawings, and we had another period of calm until we found a page stuck on a very random, mysteriously placed wall. Dan went into rambling mode again,making me chuckle at his general fear of literally anything even remotely creepy.  
“Honkty honk, oh my God back exposed back exposed. ‘Help me’, oh what a great thing to find on a page run run run run as fast as you can you can’t catch me, Slenderman. In fact you probably can because you’re supernatural which is exactly what I HATE…”  
I laughed, and he blew air from between his teeth like he does when he’s scared or nervous. He explained other horror games, more for our viewers than for me, and then said something or another about CreepyPasta. I was getting kind of bored, honestly, since nothing was happening.  
“Alright I think you should run in any direction now. Just run-”  
“NO I’m following the fence!”  
“-Just run through the forest.”  
“It’s worked out for two pages NO.”  
“Come on!”  
“Are you a maniac…”  
“Let’s be brave just run through the forest now.”  
“Oh-YOU’RE not the one controlling it!”  
“Slendy…”  
We laughed about tempting him, not expecting it to actually work, and then we screamed for awhile before stopping to laugh about how creepy it was. Honestly, I was on edge now.  
“So we have darkness, forests, supernatural evil, and static. This is just, adding up to...Dan’s birthday. In Hell.”  
I laughed, and Dan got snarky because of how scared he was. I loved his attitude when we played games like these, because he pretended to be all big and bad and brave and sarcastic but then would scream like a little girl when I laughed. It was adorably Dan.  
“How much would I have to pay you to come into this forest?” I asked after a few minutes of wandering aimlessly through the trees.  
“You couldn’t.”  
“Really.”  
“No. Like, no amount of money.”  
“What if it would save my life, Dan?”  
We laughed, knowing the answer. I had a feeling he WOULD save my life, but we were just joking for the camera right now.  
“Uh...I’d let you die, I’d let you die.”  
After wandering around some more, Dan started singing, again creepily summoning Slenderman, and I started babbling about orienteering to add to the conversational part of the video. We finished it without too much trouble, making some pretty hilarious noises and jokes. I loved spooky week; it was one of my favorite things of the year, and Dan’s overreactions made it so much better. If he freaked out this much in a GAME...imagine him in real life.

…

And here I was, in real life, walking slowly and looking for anything Dan could have his back to. That was his strategy when he was freaking out, and logically, it was a great coping mechanism. The only problem was, all I could see were trees in every direction.   
Jesus Christ, what had I gotten myself into?  
Dan could actually get hurt out here. Honestly, I was more worried about him than me. I had a feeling the cabin was to my right, and I was probably right. So that meant, theoretically, Dan had to be to the left. I turned, slowly making my way through the forest, looking for anything that had a distinctly safe feeling about it. I hadn’t stumbled upon anything for what I guessed was about half an hour when I saw a strange shadow in the distance, and began running towards it. It looked like a huge pile of logs, stacked high and neat, and was perfect for someone who didn’t want to be snuck up on to sit next to.  
“Dan?” I called quietly, my heart dropping when I didn’t hear a response. If he was lost somewhere in the complete middle of the woods, I would never find him. I approached the logs slowly, circling around them, and nearly tripped over something-someone-that was leaned up against them. I let out a breath of relief that I had been right, sliding down next to him and putting an arm around his shoulders. He was shaking, knees to his chest with his arms around them, face hidden. And yet, I could tell he was silently sobbing.  
“Hey, you’re alright now. It’s okay. Shh…”  
He didn’t stop or react at all, and I pulled him closer to me, wrapping both arms around him. He was freezing, and I heard his teeth chattering ever so slightly. When he didn’t stop shivering, I took my coat off, putting it over his shoulders since he obviously wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. We sat there like that for a long time before Dan finally turned his head to the side, looking at me with dark, glistening eyes.  
“How did you find me.”  
His voice was empty, but his eyes held every emotion I knew he didn’t want me to see. Fear, anger, pain. And something else, something deeper.  
“You remember playing Slender?”  
Lips twitching, he nodded. “Well, ‘back to the fence’ was the thing you said the most, so I figured you’d run somewhere that you could protect your back the most. I’m lucky I found this place.”  
He was watching my face intently, searching for something. He turned his head to face the other way, and I barely heard him whisper his next words.  
“You didn’t have to follow me.”  
“Yes, I did. I needed to tell you something, and to make sure you didn’t have a panic attack in the middle of this forest.”  
He turned back, his expression one of pleading and pain. “Please don’t do this right now.”  
I smiled a little, having the intense urge to brush his fringe back. Of course I didn’t, though. “It’s not bad, I promise.”  
He closed his eyes, shaking his head, but I went ahead and told him anyway.  
“Nothing happened on New Years. We were just tired. PJ saw us that night, and he wasn’t drunk, and we had just passed out from exhaustion.”  
Dan blinked, looking like he didn’t believe me. After a long pause he spoke, looking ashamed. “But we did kiss.”  
I winced, nodding. “Louise put mistletoe up.”  
Shaking his head, Dan sighed. “That’s not my point.”  
I furrowed my eyebrows, asking him with my eyes to go on. I honestly didn’t think he would, but he considered it for a moment, and finally sighed, burying his head in his arms again.  
“It was my idea. I wanted to. And I’m glad I did.”  
When I didn’t say anything, Dan turned to me, tears running down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. Not for kissing you, but for making you a part of that. It wasn’t fair to you, forcing you to do something that you probably didn’t want to-”  
I leaned forward, silencing him with my lips. His were cold, stinging my warm ones, but I didn’t pull away. When I persisted, he kissed me back, and we leaned back a few moments later for breath. I spoke to fill the silence, since Dan obviously wasn’t going to.  
“I did want to, or I wouldn’t have.”  
He nodded, avoiding my eyes.   
“Dan.”  
His eyes were full of pain when they met mine, and I reached forward, placing a hand on his cheek. He leaned into it, closing his eyes, and I kissed the top of his head, murmuring against his curls. “You have nothing to apologize for. I love you.”  
“I love you too,” he whispered, breaking my heart with the innocence in his voice. I knew he never thought he would be able to say that to anyone, or that anyone would say that to him and mean it. He should’ve known better.

It took us about an hour to find the cabin, and without my sense of direction, we could have been wandering all night. PJ and Chris were both waiting for us in the lounge, despite it being 2:17 AM. I had Dan’s hand in mine, and of course that was what they saw first. Thankfully they said nothing about it, instead asking if we were okay. Dan answered, surprisingly, smiling at both of them.  
“We’re good,” he said, smiling at me last. The last emotion in his eyes had been love, and I grinned back, for the first time since we had left being grateful we had both gone with PJ and Chris.   
“Are we out of the woods yet?” I whispered on the way upstairs, halfway joking and halfway serious. Dan gave me one of his rare, toothy grins, rolling his eyes and nodding.  
“Yes, you spork. Now quit quoting Taylor Swift.”  
“You love it,” I mocked, and he surprised me with a light kiss before opening the door to our room.  
“I love you.”  
I smiled against his lips, pulling him into a hug. “I love you too.”


End file.
